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Published on: September 28, 2018
Why existential threats increase conspiracy beliefs: Evidence for the mediating roles of agency detection and pattern
Jia-Yan Mao1, Zhao-Xie Zeng2, Shen-Long Yang3
1Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
This research investigates the cognitive mechanisms linking health-related existential threats to conspiracy beliefs within a Chinese context. Study 1 (N = 199) demonstrated that the relationship between perceived existential threats and outgroup conspiracy beliefs is mediated by hypersensitive agency detection through an experimental manipulation involving a monkeypox virus threat. Studies 2a (N = 198) and 2b (N = 200) revealed that illusory pattern perception also mediates this relationship. In Study 3 (N = 278, using a manipulation of threatening information about genetically modified foods) and in Study 4 (N = 296, using information about Japan's discharge of nuclear sewage), both hypersensitive agency detection and illusory pattern perception mediated this relationship. Additional mini-meta-analyses further corroborated these findings. We conclude that the effects of existential threats on outgroup conspiracy beliefs are mediated by hypersensitive agency detection and illusory pattern perception.
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